When it comes to you
by LANfanaddictNIE
Summary: Sam sat on the passenger seat...'This semester is going to be different' she thought as she tilted her head toward the person in the Drivers seat. She smiled at the guy, reaching out for his left hand -big yet so smooth... Click to Continue!


All characters associated with The Best Years and relatable topics all go to their respectable owners.

Sam sat on the passenger seat in a grey convertible watching passing cars and zigzagging buildings. She was quite calm after everything that happened last semester; in fact, she had a terrific summer. She didn't even think about Rich until now. She laughed to herself, wondering why she even gave him the time of day. 'This semester is going to be different' she thought as she tilted her head toward the person in the driver's seat. She smiled at the guy, reaching out for his left hand…so big, yet so smooth. "Ian, I'm glad you decided to come with me", Sam shyly said. "Anything for you babe", Ian replied with a grin on his face. Sam smiled.

Ian was a guy that she met through Dawn while she was visiting her in California. Ian was an aspiring actor not receiving any roles for the big screen. He had dirty blonde hair and captivating green eyes that could kill a person. He was about 5'10'' with a muscular build, which attracted Sam in the first place. Sam was later drawn to the guy for his emotional side- he was a very open person when it came to his feelings. A few weeks after Ian and Samantha met, Ian's mother died. Sam was there for him, Dawn had Hollywood business to tend to. Sam and Ian didn't know it at the time, but Sam's comfort to him was the start of their connection. A few days after Ian's mother's burial, he sought for more comfort in Samantha. That night they sat close together on a worn couch, the air was warm, Ian looked Sam in the eye and looked down at her lip. That was the night that they shared a kiss. It was gentle at first, but more passion was brought to it as their kisses begun to deepen. Sam felt electricity flow through her veins causing her heart to race.

"You're smiling, what are you thinking about?" Ian asked Samantha, wondering what was making his girlfriends mind tick. Samantha hadn't noticed that she was lost in her thoughts. She knew very well that Ian wasn't one to handle the silence while in company with someone else. She simply responded saying "I was thinking…about you…how we met. Counting myself lucky for finding you." Ian laughed a cute laugh and then said "Oh Samantha Best, stop…you're making me blush". Sam laughed and nudged his arm. "What's with the violence?" Ian sarcastically asked. "I just wanted to see if your biceps were still there", Samantha replied teasingly. "So now you just want me for my muscles huh?" Ian joked. Samantha didn't need to answer, for they stopped in a parking lot. Back to his serious voice, Ian declared "We're here". Sam looked around to the all too familiar surroundings. She took a deep breath in- ready to finally be home.

Ian saw the excitement in Samantha's face. The two stepped out of the car, Samantha took a whiff of the air, slowly inhaling and exhaling. The fresh air felt good in her lungs. She looked around taking in the green fresh surroundings. Sam and Ian locked their hands together with Sam saying "Welcome to my life, would you like me to hire a cute brunette to show you the ropes of this place" she playfully said referring to herself. "You're right, the service around here is great" he said to his girlfriend.

The two were walking together to pick up their room keys and on their way, Sam saw a familiar face. "Hey Kathryn, over here", Sam yelled loud enough so someone across the hall could here. "Sam! Hey how are you?" Kathryn said with excitement as she jogged toward Sam. "I'm great", Sam answered as Kathryn reached out for a hug. "Kat, this is Ian, my boyfriend, he'll be attending CU as well", Sam uttered happily. "Hi, I'm Kathryn", Kathryn said introducing herself to Ian. "It's a pleasure to meet you" extending his hand out to be shook. Kat shook his hand. "Well Sam, I guess I'll catch you later I have to meet with Shannon, she wants to throw a mixer or something for the new year. And once again it was nice to meet you…Ian", Kathryn said as she was leaving. Ian nodded.

Once Kat was gone, the two continued on to receive their room keys. Since Ian had registered late he and Sam could not stay in the same dorm, and they didn't rent an apartment for two reasons. One, Ian didn't have any luck finding one that was close to the campus. The second reason was because Samantha shied away from the topic every time it came up. It was hard for Sam to make that kind of commitment- It was just so…Official to say the least. As both received their individual room keys Sam asked seductively "Would you like me to escort you to your room?" "Again, CU has the greatest service ever" Ian said as he kissed Sam's forehead. Ian hasn't been a fan of PDA lately. Sam missed their cheesy, mushy relationship- the kind they had when they first started dating. She wanted her heart to skip a beat every time he touched her. But lately, that was not the case.

Sam was showing Ian the _Hot Spots _on campus while they made their way to Ian's dormitory- Kellington's Hall, 3rd floor. They arrived in front of his room door and Sam looked up at him and said "Here we are". Ian unlocked the door and was about to haul Samantha into his room, but then set her down when he noticed a guy (probably his roommate) and a girl playing tonsil hockey. "Ahem", Ian grunted, not knowing how else to make his presence known. The guy looked up and acted casual, like he's been in this situation a million times before. "Hey man!" the guy said and he continued "The name's Dyson, and this is my girlfriend Cassidy. "I'm Ian, this is Samantha…listen man I'm sorry for intruding, but I didn't realize at the time that I uh would be interrupting something." "No prob dude, it's cool, Cass (pronounced like Case) was gonna leave soon anyway", Dyson said. "Yeah, I'm leaving. I'll let you two guys do uh…whatever guys do", Cassidy said as she left the room. "I should go too, to unpack and settle in", Sam told Ian as she followed Cassidy out. Cassidy reminded Sam of the Freshmen year Kathryn, so arrogant. Just as Sam was making this comparison, she witnessed an odd interaction between Cassidy and Ian. Cassidy winked at Ian with a flirty flair and Ian blushed slightly trying to disguise a smile.

Sam was glad to leave the room, it was really awkward walking in on someone like that, and it was weird seeing how Cassidy looked at Ian. She felt her cheeks redden out of embarrassment and partially out of anger or jealousy. When she got outside the dorm, the breeze lightened her mood. It was refreshing. As she was walking through the courtyard she saw a lot of familiar faces. She waved at many former classmates and shared a quick "Hello, how are you" with some she had known as more than acquaintances. Sam decided to make a straight cut to her dorm across the lawn. It was an area full of trees, it probably had the most trees compared to the other grassy sections. Sam began fantasizing about having a date with Ian under those very trees. She could picture their happiness. After eating dessert he would wipe a smudge of frosting of her face and they would slowly lean in-.

"Sam!" called a familiar voice before she could finish her daydream. The voice called "over here". Sam excitedly looked at the man with a smile that even a satellite could detect. "Oh my God Noah" Sam said with exhilaration. Noah lifted Sam off the ground (but not by much because they were close in height) and they hugged. "So how is my bestie Best?" Noah asked. "I'm good, great in fact. I'm so happy to be here. To be back. To see you!" Sam excitedly spoke. "Dido. So uh what do you have planned for today?" Noah asked. "You know, just settle in. I haven't even gone to my dorm yet. And after that, I don't know, don't have any plans for the evening." Sam answered. "Well a few of us are going down to Malronisto catch up and well over indulge in Boston's finest hot wings", Noah said in a persuasive manner. "Aaw, the wings to die for. I'll think about it and give you a call." Answered Sam. "Sure thing BEST and you're not going to believe this because of the macho man I am but my phone was stolen out of my hand so I had to get a new one. My new number is 617-221-5464" Noah said. "Great. Alright. Thanks. Oh and Jenson, it was good seeing you again", Sam said in a serene tone. She missed Noah even if she only hadn't seen him for a couple of months.

Sam made her wall to her dorm and up the stairway to the 5th floor. This year McDonald Hall was undergoing renovation so Sam was assigned to Leonard Hall. Sam was a bit nervous to meet her new roommate. Last year she roomed with Alicia, her cousin, it wasn't exactly fun. Sam took a deep breath before touching the doorknob. She was about to open the door when someone opened it from the inside. To her surprise she met face to face with Kathryn her Frosh roommate. "Kat!" Sam exclaimed. "Sam! What are the odds?" Kathryn said eagerly. "The odds of you stalking me?" Sam asked. "Oh please, I was here first. Anyway, I hope you remember my rules, I'm not about to repeat them this year, especially to you." Kat answered. "Oh what a great year this is going to be!" Sam said sarcastically.

Sam had finished unpacking her stuff, and Kat continued redecorating the room to make it more homy. She started helping Kat set some things up. She and Kat had come a long way since Freshmen year. They went from the perfect roommate matchup to publicly declared enemies over night starting a dorm war. It was basically a battle of the bitch. Eventually the showdown ended with a sorority war that ended with a truce.

Amidst her thoughts, Sam couldn't help but laugh about how her and Kat's friendship developed. "What's so funny?" Kat asked curiously. "I was just thinking about my _narking_ days. You know, when I wanted to kick your ass", Sam said jokingly while still reminicing. "Oh yes, but I do recall making your life hell Barney", Kat joked back. The two broke into laughter. "Okay, now onto something more serious…Ian…where did you find this stud? I need details!" Kat said. Sam smiled and answered "Aaw, Ian…Dawn introduced us acutally…". "Wait you still talk to Dawn! How is she?" The ever curious Kathryn asked. "Dawn is fine, once she hit the big screen and stopped acting like a diva, Hollywood welcomed her back with open arms." Sam explained. "Oh…That's nice." Kat said with a sudden lost of interest in the subject. She wanted gossip, and hoped that Dawn was still Divalicious and that her life was as dramatic as her movie.

Sam's phone rang, "Hello" she said. "Oh hey Ian, what's up? (Ian: So did ya think up any plans for this evening?) Yeah, acutally I was invited to Malronis- a local restaurant- with some friends, we could do that if you don't mind… (sounds good. At what time?) Um I'm not sure, I haven't varified the time, but I'll give you a call back when I do okay? (Alright. Talk to you later.) Bye."

"So no romantic date night?" Kat asked. "I guess not, but this would give Ian a chance to get to know more people here. Besides, he doesn't make friends that easily, he's not super shy, but you know, he's not super outgoing." Sam explained. "Right." Kat said sarcastically. Sam glared at Kat for a few seconds and then rolled her eyes. She later called Noah to arrange the time that the group of friends would meet, they agreed on 8pm.

Sam finished getting ready, she had already called Ian to meet her at the front of her dorm. Kat also decided to tag along, but she made arrangements with someone else to take her. Once they got outside, Sam was greeted by Ian. The two locked hands and made there way through the trees toward the parking lot. "So…are you and Dyson like best bros now?" Sam asked with the intention of bringing up Cassidy. "He's a cool guy, but we don't have much in common." Ian said. "Oh yeah, I know what that is like, afterall, Kat and I weren't always the best of friends. But hey, you have me to be with, right?" Samantha said. "Well I'm not saying that he's a bad guy to be around, he is not someone that I would typically hang out with. Anyway, I know when classes start we won't be able to hang out as much because of the drastic differences in our class hours hun." Ian said. "Hmm…so what was the point of you coming so we could spend more time together?" Sam hastily asked. There was silence. "Nevermind. Whatever. Just forget it…I guess your right." Sam said. Did he just futuristically blow me off? Sam thought to herself.

The rest of the trip was filled with an awkward silence with few words spoken in between. Although Ian hated silence while in the company of another, he was the initial cause of this nonsense and he didn't feel like talking. Something was just different.

The group was already seated at Malronis. Sam and Ian walked into the restaurant with a smile pasted on their face. Noah waved them over to the table. He looked at Sam, something about her facial expression gave her away. Noah was close to Sam, he knew when something was bothering her, afterall, they were best friends. He just knew by her body language that she wasn't herself when she greeted the group. Noah gestured Sam to sit next to him, and she did. Noah sat to her left and Ian sat to her right.

"Ian, this is my best friend Noah, and Noah this is Ian…my boyfriend." Sam said. "Samantha talks about you a lot. So your from Canada right?" Ian asked. "Yeah, that's right." Noah replied, still not knowing what to make of the guy. "You know I used to spend a couple of summers in Toronto with my dad. He lived out there when I was a kid, so I visited him during my time off from school." Ian said. "Oh really…" Noah said, but before he could finish, the waitress came by to take everyone's orders. "Okay, will this all be on one ticket?" The waitress kindly asked. "No." Sam quickly asserted. She knew that if she didn't speak fast enough, either Kat or Noah would insist on paying for dinner. It was a habit of hers, but it was also her logic and opinion that the best way to lose a friend was to borrow money from them which did include them paying her meals.

The group sat around eating and chatting for over an hour. Soon everyone was done with their meal nad they started leaving after paying for their food. "Hey Sam! Wait up!" Kat said, "Could I catch a ride with you guys back to the dorm?" She continued. Sam looked at Ian and he simply nodded. "Okay then, let's go." Sam said to Kat. Noah was watching the small group interact. He wondered why Sam needed approval for Kat to catch a ride, afterall, Kat was her roommate. It just wasn't like Sam to leave it up to a guy (even if he was her boyfriend) to make a decision about her friends. It perplexed Noah, he didn't want to shrug it off, but then again he thought that he needed to stay out of Sam's relationships. The last time he budded in on one of her relationships he got a black eye. He eventually decided that it was just a new Sam or something of that nature.

Sam, Ian and Kat made there way back to CU making small talk- it was mostly Kat and Ian talking. Once they parked in the parking lot, Ian unlocked the door for Kat to get out and she quickly did because she sensed a 'couple conversation' coming up.

"Sam! You're acting uptight again." Ian said. Again? Sam thought. "What's going on with you?" Ian asked. "What do you mean?" Sam asked hoping to buy some time to figure out where this was going to go. "Ever since we talked about Dyson, you've started glaring at me and then you just go silent on me. Do you know Dyson from previous years? I mean is he your ex?" Ian asked. What the hell! Sam thought. Is he seriously asking me this? "No! Today was my first time meeting the guy! You really want to know what's on my mind? The flustered Sam said. "Yes, that would definitely answer my question" Ian said in a slightly snottish manner. "You said we wouldn't have time for one another, and your tone implied that you didn't want me around, like you were annoyed. It's like your planning to blow me off!" Sam said argumentively. "Whoa…Sam. Slow down. We don't have much time to spend together. Think about it, it's logical. Besides, this is my first year in college; isn't it apart of the college experience to go out and meet new people? You did that didn't you? Anyway, you also said that you were going to get a job, that is going to consume a lot of time." Ian reasoned. "I guess your right. I just over reacted. I'm sorry." Sam said. She wasn't really sure what to make out of Ian's words but she knew she didn't like what she heard when he said "go out and meet new people". His voice said one thing, but his eyes implied another.

Sam was the first of the two to get out of the car. She walked slowly into Leonard Hall and made her way up the stairs to the 5th floor. She took out her room key and opened the door. Kat was already asleep, surprisingly. Sam quickly changed into her night clothes and got into bed, but she couldn't sleep. Questions of Ian and his replies were scrambling in her head. But out of all the other questions, one was hanging over her head, it outweighed the rest, it seemed to loosely connect all the pieces. Why did Cassidy wink at Ian?

**I know that I didn't mention Trent in this chapter; he'll be included as a regular character in either chapter 2 or chapter 3. Anyway I hope you enjoyed it this far. Tell me what you thought about this chapter in the reviews. Thanks.**


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